Kingdom Hearts: Birth of the Skeleton Key
by Akuseru Kouen
Summary: As soon as a mysterious letter in a bottle comes to Sora he begins to have horrible nightmares about an evil he never thought could exist. The most impressionable part of his nightmares is when he watches a princess die in her princes's arms. Please R&R


**Kingdom Hearts: Birth of the Skeleton Key**

Chapter One: Letter from the King

_In this place you may never know, people from distant lands are connected. United with the security you have brought them. There is no need for secret pathways or walls built up around each individual world. The light and the darkness have come to live in harmony and you are the one to thank for it, you are the one that keeps it so. For many years our people and those of your different destinations have come to prosper in the warmth of peace and humility. No one person believes they are greater than another; rather they unite in their unique talents and build up an unstoppable desire to be something greater together, for the better of our home, for the better of all worlds. There are no menacing shadows in the light of the moon, no, only the peaceful darkness that falls each night on our sleepy kingdom…at least…there weren't…_

_It was only a few nights ago that I sensed something was coming, a weight so familiar pulled at my heart. I knew deep down that it was only a matter of time. For in my own palace, there has started an unnecessary struggle for power and recognition. My royal knights have started to lose control of their actions and one by one they are falling into that darkened abyss of hatred and greed. Small, less harmful creatures have started to appear, materializing out of the grounds beneath my feet. It was only when my weapon came to me that I knew…I knew some things were about to be changed. The Keyblade Knights are about to be reunited once more...in this place you may soon come to know…_

_-The King_

"Hmm… I can tell you for sure, Sora that this letter did not come from me. But whomever it came from, it sounds like they know you and their world is once again in trouble. But what's even more curious is that they come from a place where the light and the darkness have learned to co-exist in harmony. That sure doesn't sound like any place I know in these times" Mickey stated sincerely as he slid the crumpled up letter back to the side of the desk the boy was sitting at.

Sora gently stretched his fingers over the paper and held his palm down on top of it. He glanced at it if only for a moment and looked back up at the king with his bold blue-eyes. "Yeah, I know. That's why I had to come to you for this. You know more about the other worlds beyond these borders and I just had to be sure there wasn't something I was missing."

Mickey just simply shook his head slowly, looking as if he were trying to decode the words that were now floating inside his mind. It seemed as if something was just not sitting right in him. Taking notice of this, Goofy began to worry and spoke out before really thinking.

"What if this is just some sort of prank, your majesty? Maybe it's just a way to call you and Sora out into a trap."

"Unfortunately, I don't believe that's so. This message seems too urgent to be the case… What doesn't make the most sense is that this found its way right to Sora and is speaking to him as if he will soon be involved in something even more dangerous than before. This is truly something I cannot grasp."

Sora curled his right hand around the glass bottle the letter had traveled to him in. From passed events, things like this note just did not show up to him. They came with a purpose and responsibility to help whoever called upon the keyblade's power. Then something came to him, "What if…this note is older than we think? The worlds were united before the heartless and Xehanort… What if some poor king never received the help he called for?"

"That…that could be a possibility I suppose" Mickey agreed hesitantly.

"You don't think so? It feels like it makes sense to me. I mean think about it, a world where places have been united? Darkness and light co-exist in harmony? With all due respect your majesty, you said it yourself, there is no such place in these times. I think the reason why this hits all of us so hard is that it is a possibility that a great kingdom fell into a preventable, eternal despair because the king's plea for help was never heard" Sora said, trying to reason with the king the best he could. He was also trying to put Mickey at ease, for the sake of his kingdom and the Queen. Mickey had only returned home a few weeks ago. "If this does end up being anything to be worried about, you don't have to stress, send me. You know I can take care of business just fine."

"Sora's right, your majesty, we've handled many battles with the heartless and the nobodies. Whatever this is you can consider it handled!" Donald exclaimed with a confident look on his face as he gripped his staff, holding it high to the royal ceilings above.

"Thank you, all of you" The king smiled while slipping down from his chair and walking around to the other side of the desk, watching as Sora stood up in respect. "I know I can count on you three to keep things running as smoothly as we can get them. I will keep that in mind if anything does come up that raises an alert. Please Sora, you are welcome to stay in the castle for the night. You and your friends traveled so very far for almost nothing."

"It's wasn't nothing, that's for sure. I need to stay on top of my game and let you know anything that I learn" The boy said while reaching his hands back behind his head and clasping them together. He smiled cheekily, trying to lighten everyone's mood.

...

"So? What did he say?" Riku asked while leaning his back against the nearest palm tree and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Nothing really, just that it didn't make any sense because there is no such place like that yet." Sora sighed heavily while pulling his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them. He wasn't about to lie, something just didn't seem right about that letter. What could it truly all mean? And why did it seem it was talking straight to him and only to him. Why didn't Kairi and Riku ever get these sorts of things? _"Best not to take it for granted…"_ He thought to himself.

"C'mon you two! Stop being such worry warts! If the king says not to worry then there is nothing to worry about. He knows what he's doing" Kairi stated with a smile as she faced the boys. The wind from the sea whispered through the strands of her soft burgundy hair and she caught Sora quickly looking away from her.

Riku chuckled and came off the tree to stand next to Sora, who was still currently sitting. "You've become such a mother hen, Kairi. Always bossing us around like we're your children."

Kairi giggled softly, "Somebody's got to do it or you two would be running around swinging your giant keys at each other. Kind of like how you two used to spar with each other back on the Island." The girl looked down at Sora, he still hadn't budged. She began to worry that this was weighing more on him than he was letting on. She nudged Riku and signaled to him to say something to try and cheer him up.

"Perk up, Sora. Kairi's probably right about the king. He's wise and knows what's best; he'll let you in on anything he finds out. Trust me; I've spent enough time in the dark with Mickey to know."

The boy looked up to his older friend and nodded, "Yeah, I know. I guess…I'm just not being patient enough." Sora glanced down at his left and stared at the glass bottle. The letter was sitting perfectly inside of it...of course, where was it about to go? He picked it up gently and hauled himself up and smiled at each of his friends. "I can't wait to get back to the Islands. I want to make a couple of wooden swords and spar with Riku."

Kairi giggled and threw her arms around each of the boys, "Just like old times! We'll make the best of this time you two have away from your duties! Maybe we can even build a raft..."

Sora and Riku both looked at her, slightly puzzled. They had ways of traveling now, why in the world would that girl need an old, rickety raft to get around in?

"You know…just for old time's sake?" She grinned innocently.

The boys looked back at each other and shared in a good hearty laugh, something that had yet to be done all day. It was a good sign that both of them were starting to ease up. It was hard now for either of them to really be carefree but when the chances came they truly did try to take them and run with it. They were just kids, after all. Kids that would never know a normal adolescence or even a normal life…there was no going back to mundane after all they had gone through and everything they had learned. The true question still remained…did they want that life? To be on the other side of the keyblade looking in?

...

_The screams surrounded him. His heart, racing faster and faster with each passing second beat strenuously against his chest, it was almost enough to collapse him but he had to run and keep running. He had to reach the palace before it was too late. Why! Why had he so foolishly left her alone, unguarded and so very vulnerable! He knew better than this and now he was paying for it. _

"_Your majesty!"_

_He looked and saw two of his Keyblade Knights were coming up along side of him, one of which was his Captain in Command. Though some of the strain had been relieved when he saw them he knew that he had to stay focused._

"_Orders!" Yelled the captain in command as he spun around the hordes of dark shadows lifting up from underneath his feet._

"_To the bridge, T-! -a, to the courtyard! Your comrades need you!" He yelled back, giving his two greatest warriors their specific orders. He knew with them at the heart of the spilling darkness that the situation had the promise of being handled._

"_Yes your majesty!"_

_Watching as the two sped away from him and to their destinations he gained another wind and ran faster to his castle. He took a sharp corner too hard and lost his footing, causing him to skid across the ground and fly right into a low hanging stained glass window. His body launched forward and he turned his face away from the impact and listened as the glass shattered all around him and fell to the stone floors, breaking off into tinier, intricate pieces of broken colors. Once he was sure that there would be nothing there to blind him, he opened his eyes and saw that he had crashed into the local Moogle hut, where various items were synthesized for the citizens of the kingdom. Luckily, no one had been in the hut and he was able to get up and get back on track without having to explain himself, of course he would have to take care of it later. With just one breath, he was up and leaping out the way he'd come in and in his endeavor a shard of remaining glass scratched him from the corner of his eye back to his ear. He roared with pain but didn't let it stop him._

_After getting back on track and racing in through the front iron gates to the castle, which were now lying bent and almost unrecognizable, he raced up the stone steps and through the busted and splintered door. He stopped about half way into the darkened throne chamber and scanned the room with his eyes._

"_Princess!" He called out to into the darkness._

_The sound of his armor echoed as he inched forward blindly. He reached his arms up and held his hands out in front of him as if he were holding a weapon and just as soon as he did this, his keyblade came to him. Something in his heart was telling him that the worst was yet to come and that he was too late…too late to save her. "Princess?" He asked almost shyly this time, hoping that maybe the tone of his voice would urge her to show herself._

"_You're too late…your majesty…!"_

_The lights went up and revealed the princess to him and darkness fell once more as fast as it had gone._

"_PRINCESS!"_

"_HER HEART IS MINE! AND SO SHALL BE KINGDOM HEARTS!"_

_It was almost as if it was happening in slow motion but he knew better. His eyes widened with disbelief as a familiar twisted and devious keyblade was impaled through the princess's chest, releasing her heart. She cried with pain but was lying on the marble floor lifeless just mere moments after her attacker had taken what he had came for. With a flick of the predator's wrist he was nothing more than a fleeting shadow jumping around the walls and finally out of sight. A new fear installed itself in this mighty royal and as soon as he regained what was left of his composure he ran to the fallen princess and quickly held her cold body against his scratched and dented armored chest._

"_My…K-King.…"_

_He looked down to the woman in his arms and with shock he cradled her closer, "Princess! Please, come back to me, Will it! Call your heart home!" He yelled, silver tears brimmed in his eyes. He knew all too well what was happening. She was dying. No one ever survived an attack with that hideous keyblade._

"_Y-You're bleed…" Was all she could stutter before slipping away in his arms._

"_No! No! You aren't!" He growled in an utter sadness he'd never known before screaming out to the heavens above._

Sora sat straight up from the bed screaming. He stopped once he realized he was awake. He sat there for a few long moments trying to catch his breath and clear his mind. His fingers were constricting tightly to the sheets that were laid out over his waist. "What…was that?" He asked himself breathlessly. Beads of sweat slipped down from his temples and down underneath to his chin where they would fall even further down his neck. He didn't even budge when he saw the light from the hallway spill into his room, meaning someone had come and opened the door.

"Sora, are you ok?" Riku asked before seeing the sight that was before him. His friend was just sitting there. That surely wasn't normal; the younger boy wasn't one to just ignore someone. "Sora?"

...

"So, you think this dream somehow ties into this letter?" Riku inquired while holding the bottle and looking in and seeing the paper roll around as he moved it. He too felt some kind of bad vibe coming from this thing but he couldn't let either Sora or Kairi in on that. He needed to be strong for the two of them because if he lost his head, that would just spell disaster.

"It surely does sound like this is affecting Sora in more ways than he is letting on. I suppose, for his sake, we have no other choice but to take this to Yen Sid. We have to get this looked at and taken care of before things start to get out of control." Mickey sighed sadly as his eyes landed on the boy. What he had seen must be tearing him up on the inside especially since no one could make any sense of it. "We'll get you all cared for, Sora. We won't let this go any further…"

All the young male could do was nod. His eyes were wide with a fear he hadn't any clue he had. He was staring so intently at the floor that it was beginning to scare all of them. Would he ever be the same? What did this all mean and why was it suddenly happening out of the blue?

**Author's note:** Ok! So it's been a REALLY long time since I've written any fanfictions and this one just kept buzzing around in my head and it seemed like something I could seriously work with. Anyway, I hope you liked this and be sure to leave me some positive feedback! :) Thanks for reading! I will try to get around to the next chapter soon!


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